The End

"That's because it's not the end."

Well, for us, it is. In my opinion, Dave Mitchell wrapped up the story nicely. We get the story of the divorce told by the gossiping women in the candy store, Jason goes around and says some goodbyes, and we see the relationship between Julia and Jason grow. I wish we had been able to see Jason and Dean's goodbye, as that may have helped see how their relationship is going, but David Mitchell may have purposely left that part out to allow readers to decide how their story ends.

This book tells the story of how Jason Taylor grows into himself, and deals with bullies along the way. We were promised a story about:

a world of the cruel, luscious Dawn Madden and her power-hungry boyfriend; of a certain Madame Eve van Outrye de Crommelnck, an elderly bohemian emigre; of first cigarettes, first kisses, and first deaths; of Gypsies camping in the woods and hysteria they inspire; and, even close to home, of a slow motion divorce in four seasons.

Boy, did we get get that. We got to see Jason at his best, and often, at his worst. Readers get the full and unfiltered emotions of Jason. Being able to understand what he feels, we sympathize with him, and understand his actions more fully. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and would highly recommend this book to anyone. The development of Jason was nice to see, and I really liked the first person point of view that allowed us to get up close and personal with Jason. Although this book could be seen as coming full circle by starting and ending with "January Man," Jason has changed so much, and learned so much about life, and himself that make this book fabulous to read, and left me with a great sense of happiness and hope for Jason, even though the ending was a little sad.

The End of an Era

Throughout Black Swan Green we see Jason want to be like the cool kids. He wants to join the Spooks, he wants to be liked by the older kids, and he idolizes Hugo.

During the later chapters we see Jason start to care less and less about what the "cool kids" think, and more about how he feels. He tells us that the people in the Spooks haven't been harassing him, they've just been ignoring him, which he is okay with. This is another big step for Jason. Although he decided to be friends with Dean rather than being in the Spooks, he now no longer regrets giving up the chance to be with the "in" crowd.

For me the biggest, and final turning point in Jason's mindset is when his dad asks him how Christmas was, and he mentions that "Hugo's smarmy as ever" (Mitchell 283). This made me realize how different Jason had become over the year. He finally saw through Hugo's smoothness to see that he really is, in lack of better words, "smarmy."

This was a really great book and I thought it had many good lessons that we can all still learn from.

How Eloquent

When I first was reading Black Swan Green I thought the narrator was about my age. I don't know if it was the way he was spoke, the things he did, or simply that I was projecting myself onto him, but I was quite shocked to figure out that he had only just turned thirteen. Going back and reading the first chapter knowing that he is thirteen, I can see many things that should have tipped me off: bounding down the stairs, being challenged to a race to the lake (otherwise he would be a spaz), or aspiring to be like Nick Yew.

In "Hangman" we learn more about Jason's stammer, and the struggles he goes through to try to hide it. His friends and teachers don't understand the severity of his stammer (I don't know about you, but Mr. Inkberrow's sassy comment made me want to punch him), and that his stammer doesn't always come out in normal conversation. Jason also has learned how to modify sentences to avoid using N- and S- words. This may be one reason why I initially thought Jason was about 16 or 17. He has a wide vocabulary, and he knows how to use it.

It'll be interesting to see how Jason's struggles with his stammer play out, and if he accidentally lets a fancy word slip in front of his friends.

I also think this chapter opened my eyes a little, since we are getting to hear first hand how Jason feels about his stammer and the lengths he'll go to avoid using "hangman" words. This chapter made me realize that everyone is fighting their own battles, even if they aren't that apparent.

Middle School Hierarchy

So today in class we discussed the new book of Black Swan Green and it's narrator and main man Jason. In "January Man" Jason informs us of the dynamics of the middle school social hierarchy. When we discussed this in class many students said that they did not have an experience with such a situation. I don't know if this was because they were at a different middle school, or they didn't pay much attention, but let me tell you: middle school hierarchies still exist.

When I was in middle school I was between nerd and socially acceptable. I was no where near being popular, and trust me, the popular people let me know it. I'm not saying because I wasn't popular I didn't enjoy middle school, I actually had a really great group of friends, and I was fine with who I was. But alas, there were the popular girls. It could have been a scene from any stereotypical cafeteria scene.The popular people sat at the table in the corner by the window, the very unpopular people were on the other side of the room, and I sat practically in the middle. You could tell who people were based on their seating arrangement.

This is a lot like how Jason describes the dynamics of his friends. The cool kids only needed a first name, the uncool kids got bad nicknames, and the people in the middle just got their last name. Even Jason's teacher calls him "Taylor" in "Hangman." When Jason plays "British Bulldogs" on the lake he makes it "home" as the fourth runner. Grant says, "Nice work Jacey- boy!"

It'll be interesting to see where Jason's standing goes in the future, and how his relationship with Dean might change simply based on social structure.